Dreams of the Past
by Visco-Kantsc
Summary: Himagaki Yukiko had once been a shrine girl. A freak accident left her in the care of the Haninozuka family. This unsolved case of her past haunted them, keeping both of them from sleep. How will they solve what police never even looked into?


Dawn broke with the unnatural crackle of a fire in the distance and the smell of burnt bodies in the air. The red sun peeked over the horizon and as time went on the dark of the night faded with its melancholy. The wind unknowingly played with the scarce amount of leaves on the broken trees, and caressed the only living form among the wreckage like a mother would her new born babe. Large slabs of plywood fell from their exhaustion of keeping the small house together and the birds ceased to chirp from the scene. The only sounds were the embers emanating from the pit that was once the Himagaki shrine and the light footfalls of a small boy walking close by.

Carrying a bundle of freshly picked flowers and a slightly dirty pink bunny the child stumbled across the wreck. His honey colored eyes surveyed the scene as he picked out the burnt forms of two adult sized carcasses. He quickly said a prayer for the poor souls and was about to leave when he heard movement not far from where he stood. Quietly the blonde boy jogged to the source of the noise and spotted a young girl calling out for her mother while waving her arms maniacally in the air. While he looked at her he saw the tears welling up in eyes that could no longer see and the fear etched in her freckled face. At that moment he had decided that her life was about to drastically change.

Morning life

Mitsukuni woke with a start as he looked at his surroundings. He was tucked neatly away in his futon with his usa-chan cradled softly in his arms. Wind rustled the papers of the books he had left on his desk the night before, and the sun poured through the curtains of the open window. Shaking off the sweat upon his brow he thought back to his dream. The boy was him; at the mature age of six he was uncommonly quiet with the aura of a war veteran surrounding him, he noted with a laugh how much he had changed since that day. He was up a lot earlier than usual, and so he decided that a swift practice in the dojo would do him some good, the dream had disturbed him, so his morning cake could wait. Relinquishing the shoji screen he padded softly down the hall to the family dojo.

Whispers from the family servants could be heard as he made his weary way quietly to the practice room. Murmurs from all around him sounded, hisses of admiration and astonishment struck his ears for awaking so early again. He barely had time to soak it in before he slid the screen ｄoor over and found himself looking at his favored cousin, Morinozuka Takashi. Mitsukuni wasn't surprised, for he was a stern stoic individual who prided himself on honing his skills constantly in order to protect him. Takashi looked at his small cousin and nodded.

"Mitsukuni," He said with his deep voice, the air of concern showing clearly in his tone. He knew the question lingered in the air from just saying his name, but he couldn't say much of an answer as he stepped out of his slippers and entered the room sliding shut the shoji door behind him. Walking slowly with his face to the floor he pondered his words.

"Yes Takashi, I did." He said as he stopped in front of his cousin and took up a solid fighting stance. The way his eyes grayed and sharpened signaled 'I'm ready to spar' and Takashi put the shinai he was using where it belonged and joined Mitsukuni in position. A quick charge to Takashi's center told him that Mitsukuni's mind was elsewhere and he easily threw him to the ground.

"You're not focusing, Mitsukuni" He said as he sat beside the senior and looked at him casually.

"What can I do Takashi?" He started as a low sigh escaped him. "This dream has been plaguing me for two weeks now. I feel like I'm reliving the past each time I close my eyes." He finished staring at the square patterned ceiling with his brows dipped in confusion. A large tan hand calmly pressed against his forehead and he looked up towards his cousin. A smile flicked across Takashi's lips and he tilted his head to the side. Slowly he got up to leave saying simply "Your answer will come.....Mitsukuni."


End file.
